Is this decision mine to make?

30 June

THE NUMBERS

Adults make 35,000 decisions a day, and 227 of those decisions are about food! In product and transformation, it probably feels like a lot more than 35,000 decisions a day, because all we are ever doing is either making decisions or influencing others to make decisions

Children, by contrast, are only making 3,000 decisions a day. Bliss in comparison!

DECISION FATIGUE IS REAL!

You know that moment when you’ve finally reached the end of your work day? The moment when you finally give yourself permission to collapse wherever you’re sitting or standing? Just for a moment, you tell yourself. And in the back of your mind, in that moment, the thought of trying to decide what to have for dinner makes your stomach turn? That moment is a sign you’ve exhausted your decision making capacity

Every decision we make - consciously or unconsciously - drains a little bit of our mental, emotional, and physical capacity. If we don’t protect or replenish our energy, we eventually run out of our ability to make decisions which could then lead to either: a) risky decision making, or b) decision avoidance

DECISION FATIGUE SOUNDS LIKE…

Perhaps you’ve caught yourself thinking these things, or have heard your product and transformation colleagues say things like:

“I’ll tackle this later…” and enter into the procrastination cycle
“Oh I can’t decide: eeny, meeny, miny, moe - that will do…” and make risky, impulsive and ill considered decisions that might carry unwanted consequences
“I can’t deal with this right now…” or “Let’s wait for the next executive committee / steering committee meeting and table it there…” and avoid making the decision because there is a serious bout of indecision
“When in doubt, I’m just going to say no…” and default to the safest perceived answer to maintain the status quo

When decision fatigue increases, the quality of decisions decreases

WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT DECISION FATIGUE?

One way to address decision fatigue at work and to increase the quality of decisions made is to protect your decision making capacity; protect your mental, emotional, and physical energy when it comes to decision making. A very simple thing you can do is ask yourself one question:

“Is this decision mine to make; or does it belong to someone else?”

It only takes one moment to do so. If the answer is that it is your decision to make, then you carry on as you were. If the answer is that the decision belongs to someone else, then you’ve saved yourself energy, time, and effort by not even entering into the decision making process in the first place. But where there is ambiguity and doubt, make sure the rightful decision maker knows it’s their call

Everybody starts with, and has, good intentions; however sometimes it’s not so obvious within our organisations where the decision making authority lies, or who the best people to make certain types of decisions are

Where decision making authority is unclear and decisions are slow to be made, the people who are most invested in the outcome are likely to step in to move things forward - even if they are not the ultimate decision makers - leading to potential inefficiencies, ineffectiveness, and wasted investments

This is no one’s fault. Often this is a natural problem that organically emerges as a consequence of the speed at which organisations move (e.g. in fast growth and scale up start-ups where you’re onboarding people and changing your organisational structures and dynamics on an almost daily basis), or as a consequence of having complicated legacy decision making processes that become unclear over time or become unsuitable as the context and complexity inside and outside of the organisation changes (e.g. government or large global companies)

It’s nOT MY DECISION TO MAKE

So you’ve decided that the decision in front of you is not yours to make. Now what? The below guide has been designed to help you take that next step forward and protect your decision making capacity

It’s not my decision to make; but I have critical information and the outcome of the decision has a high impact to me

Share the critical information you have with the decision maker and state your case; but let the decision maker make the decision

It’s not my decision to make; I have no critical information but the outcome of the decision has a high impact to me

Stay informed and be involved in co-creation when invited by the decision maker; but let the decision maker make the decision

It’s not my decision to make; but I have critical information and the outcome of the decision has a low impact to me

Share the critical information you have with the decision maker; then walk away and forget about it

It’s not my decision to make; I have no critical information and the outcome of the decision has a low impact to me

Walk away - run if you must - and forget about it

You don’t have to be exhausted at the end of every day

Being smart about what decisions you make (or don’t make) protects your time, energy, and effort. It protects your ability to make good quality decisions. It protects your ability to do the things you want. It protects your ability to spend your time with the people you care for

WANT TO MAKE BETTER QUALITY DECISIONS?

Let’s work together on this. Here are three ways:

Influencing for Impact: This practical 2-day workshop is for you if you want to influence a decision maker, influence a change in customer or colleague behaviour, or influence someone to buy something from you
Executive and Leadership Team Coaching: Work directly with Lai-Ling to problem solve for your specific situation in a confidential setting. This is for you if you want to develop and execute on a game plan that is 100% tailored to you
Leadership Development: Invest in the product and transformation leaders in your company with leadership development that is customised for their role. This is for you if you want your people to learn about people and politics

Let's Talk

References

Hoomans, J. (2015). 35,000 Decisions: The Great Choices of Strategic Leaders. Roberts Wesleyan University. Retrieved 12 February 2021 from https://go.roberts.edu/leadingedge/the-great-choices-of-strategic-leaders

Lai-Ling Su